


No Sweeter Innocence

by Ahelpfulpeach



Series: She-Ra Canon Universe Stories [17]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Anxiety, Awkward First Times, Communication, Consent, Cunnilingus, Dancing, Enthusiastic Consent, Explicit Consent, F/F, First Time, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, Hand Jobs, Happy Sex, Idiots in Love, Non-Penetrative Sex, Nonverbal Communication, Oral Sex, POV Catra (She-Ra), Post-Canon, Pretty much the entire cast is mentioned, Romantic Fluff, Sexual Tension, Shopping, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trust, boob touchin', just not all of them speak, the girls are GROWING and HEALING, they love each other a lot, this is literally so FUCKING fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:55:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24810421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahelpfulpeach/pseuds/Ahelpfulpeach
Summary: "Catra was pretty sure Micah was saying something important, but she didn’t really care. She’d gotten the gist of the announcement from Glimmer earlier: re-construction was finally done, everyone was very excited about that, so apparently a party was required, and Bright Moon was going to host. It was all… great. The re-construction part actually was a cause for excitement, but the idea of hundreds of strangers flooding a place she’d finally started to call home? Not so much."
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: She-Ra Canon Universe Stories [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763977
Comments: 78
Kudos: 432





	No Sweeter Innocence

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone keeping track of the timeline for this series, this one starts at about 8 and a half-9 months post finale, and ends about 10 months post finale
> 
> When I originally planned this fic, it was going to be the 6th in the series, preceded by ‘The Love I Sell You In the Evening’, ‘Everybody Lives’, ‘Warm’, ‘Found Wanting’, and ‘Oh My God, Do I Try’ and taking place about 6 months post finale. Clearly that… did not happen the way I originally imagined.  
> But in any case, I’m really happy with how this series progressed and changed, and I have many more ideas sitting about in my planning doc, so there is definitely more to come :D
> 
> Also the post fic notes are just full of me rambling, there is nothing terribly important there.

Catra was pretty sure Micah was saying something important, but she didn’t really care. She’d gotten the gist of the announcement from Glimmer earlier: re-construction was finally done, everyone was very excited about that, so apparently a party was required, and Bright Moon was going to host. It was all… great. The re-construction part _actually_ was a cause for excitement, but the idea of hundreds of strangers flooding a place she’d finally started to call home? Not so much.

So Catra had tuned out pretty much immediately, focusing on the one thing this announcement had going for it, in her opinion—her girlfriend, standing quietly behind the King and Glimmer, glowing with She-Ra’s magic. In the relative anonymity of the crowd, she could just _look_ and appreciate how fucking gorgeous Adora was. And honestly, how was she supposed to concentrate when she could see the cut of her biceps from thirty yards away? Or how her hands flexed as she fidgeted with her sword? And really, Catra had to thank whatever magic was in control of She-Ra’s outfits because _holy shit_ it worked for her. Showing off her fuck-off long legs, accentuating the curve of her waist...

And all of that was _hers_. Everyone else could stare, but Catra was the only one who could _touch_. And, okay, most of their friends. As it turned out, Adora was actually a pretty physically affectionate person when she was allowed to be. But whatever, they didn’t count, and that touching was _hardly_ -

“Having fun?”

It was a testament to years of military discipline that Catra didn’t jump out of her skin and maul the Queen—Princess? How did it work with her dad finally stepping back into power?—of Bright Moon. As it was, she couldn’t stifle the surprised hiss, and Melog bristling beside her cleared a bubble around the two of them.

“Aren’t you supposed to be over there?” Catra grumbled, smoothing down the fur on her tail.

“Finished with my bit, which you’d know if you were paying attention,” Glimmer laughed, a smirk on her face.

Ah. She’d been caught. Catra figured she had two options, she could be defensive, wave it off, try and play it cool. Or…

“Oh trust me, Sparkles,” Catra purred, letting her voice drip with desire, “I had _much_ more interesting things on my mind.”

Point Catra. Glimmer broke eye contact first, blushing a little. Not quite as flustered as Catra would have preferred, but whatever. Little victories.

“Then you might actually want to watch this bit,” Glimmer huffed, clearly a little peeved about being beaten at her own game. She gestured towards the gazebo, where Micah and Adora still stood. The gazebo itself was the last thing constructed in Bright Moon, the product of Bow’s overly saccharine thought processes. He’d suggested the whole Princess Alliance, as well as the other major figures of the Rebellion build it together as a sort of memorial. It was exactly the sort of sappy bullshit she’d come to expect, both from Bow specifically, and the Rebellion as a whole.

Though she wouldn’t admit it, Catra _did_ find a certain amount of pleasure in finding the pieces she’d helped put together. Maybe Bow had decent ideas. Sometimes.

“And now, She-Ra will put the finishing touch on our final project!” Micah announced, stepping aside for Adora to take center stage. She scanned the crowd briefly, offering a nervous smile that grew steadier, more confident as she locked on to… Oh. Catra felt her face heat up under the intense gaze, but she grinned right back. Couldn’t let Adora get performance anxiety over a stupid gazebo after everything else she’d done. Even with Glimmer’s barely muffled giggling beside her, Catra found she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Adora thrust the sword into the air, and the glowing energy that always followed She-Ra spread outwards, pouring over and around the gazebo, leaving it awash in a rainbow of light for a long moment. As the near blinding brightness dissipated, She-Ra’s final contribution was revealed—the entire building was covered in honeysuckles on crawling vines, and the ground around it was carpeted with violets. The effect was something… well, magical, fittingly enough.

As Micah returned to finish the announcement, Catra finally brought her attention back to Glimmer. A mistake, really, as she was still just smirking at her, one eyebrow raised.

“Whatever, Sparkles,” Catra huffed, shoving her. Let _her_ try to be all cool and unaffected if she were in the same position.

Glimmer blinked out of existence as she stumbled, reappearing on Catra’s other side, “Aww what’s the matter? You two are just cu-”

“Your boyfriend used up your daily ‘cute’ quotient already,” Catra snapped, a little more venom in her voice than she’d intended. Without the pleasant distraction, the reality of the situation set back in. A fucking _ball_. _Here_.

Glimmer must have noticed, her face fell from the playful grin into something more serious, shrewd, “You okay?”

Catra groaned, this was really the last thing she wanted. “I’m fine.”

“Right.”

What was she up to?

“It’s nothing.”

“Sure.”

Apparently, Catra had forgotten Glimmer was a master interrogator.

“I’m not upset!”

“Whatever you say.”

Catra was bristling, embarrassed. She didn’t _want_ to talk about it, but fine, if Glimmer was going to drag it out of her, “I just... I don’t want all those people here.”

“Wait, really?” Glimmer sounded surprised, “You’re nervous about the party? But you were so confident at the Princess Prom, and this has a lot fewer rules. Really, just don’t start a brawl and you’ll be fine.”

Shrugging, Catra looked away, running her hand over Melog instead, who rubbed against her leg in silent encouragement, “That was different. I had a mission then, and I didn’t… I wasn’t on the same side as everyone there. I was just fucking with Adora, you know, being a distraction. I didn’t have to be _nice_ and make small talk and all that bullshit.”

When she’d danced with Adora then, she’d buried the exhilaration she’d felt at their closeness, calling it excitement that her plan was working, that she could manipulate her so easily. But now… there was no way she’d be able to mask it. She was in love and had long since accepted that, hell, she wanted Adora to know, to see it. She wanted there to be a difference, for them to have some actual fun this time. It was the rest of the room Catra could do without seeing her all lovestruck and sappy.

“Look, I’ll _personally_ make sure you don’t have to talk to too many people,” Glimmer rested a hand on Catra’s arm, shaking her from her thoughts, “I’ll chase them off if I have to, but most people will probably be too busy with their own groups to bother. You can just stick with the people you know, dance, have some good food. It’ll be fun!”

Glimmer’s expression was all too supportive and happy. Catra narrowed her eyes, waiting for the catch.

“Plus,” there it was, something sly creeping into her tone, “I helped Adora pick out a new outfit _just_ for this event, and she’s really excited to show you. And, trust me, you’re gonna want to see it.”

Well. That was… That was cheating.

Catra was vaguely aware of Glimmer disappearing in a poof of purple, but it was hardly the most important thing on her mind. What kind kind of outfit? What would she look like? Terrific, Catra already knew, but she wanted specifics. Her eyes flicked back to Adora, who had reverted to her normal self, and was awkwardly trying to find a way out of the gazebo and through the crowd. A soft smile crept onto Catra’s face. Fine. Fuck it. She’d figure out the whole public vulnerability thing later. Thoughts full of new outfits and dancing and Adora, Catra moved through the crowd to her.

* * *

Having thoughts about new outfits apparently didn’t make them appear in convenient places like the closet or dresser. Catra sighed, raking a hand through her hair in frustration. Most of the clothes she’d obtained since coming to Bright Moon emphasized comfort, either for long days of work or for exercise. Not for the first time since the announcement a couple weeks prior, she wished she could just wear her suit. It was comfortable, it still fit well, and Adora had sure seemed to like it the first time around. But Glimmer had _insisted_ she find something else, something new. Something about _new memories_. Whatever, she’d… she’d figure it out.

But not right then. Melog bumped their head against Catra’s thigh, mewing.

“ _Breathing time_.”

Catra sighed, shoving the closet closed; Perfuma was waiting.

Perfuma _and_ Scorpia, apparently. Catra paused as she reached the little patio area they normally used for their sessions. Neither of them were sitting, and both looked suspiciously excited.

“Uh… What’s going on?” Nerves had pitched her voice up a little higher than she’d intended, tail twitching with anxious energy. Out of the corner of her eye, Catra could see Melog wasn’t doing much better.

“Catra!” As always, Perfuma sounded just over the moon to see her. Catra couldn’t understand where she kept all that enthusiasm, or how she managed to dish it out to literally _everyone_ she spoke to.

“Hey Wildcat,” Scorpia was beaming too, and it was just. A lot.

“Yeah, hi. One of you actually going to explain why you’re all…” Unable to find a phrasing that adequately described the somewhat terrifying nature of their excitement, Catra settled for just gesturing at them vaguely.

Scorpia’s brow furrowed, “Standing?”

Thankfully, Perfuma seemed to understand, “I was speaking to Glimmer earlier, and she said you were having trouble finding something to wear for the party!”

Ah. Fucking Glimmer, _o_ _f course_.

“So I thought, before we do your normal session, we could go to the store and find you something!” Perfuma continued, still all warmth and rainbows, “And since Scorpia’s known you longer, and has actually gone to a ball with you before, I thought she’d be perfect to help!”

Catra glanced at Scorpia, who was still smiling pleasantly, seemingly just happy to be included. Alright, not her idea then.

“You sure Scorpia didn’t get invited because you wanted an excuse to go shopping with your girlfriend?” Catra grinned at Perfuma’s blush. It was rare she caught that woman off balance, and if Perfuma was going to spring a surprise shopping trip on her, then she’d take whatever control back she could.

“I-I mean, I love spending time with her-”

“Thanks hon’,” Scorpia interjected, giving Perfuma a quick peck on the cheek, “I love spending time with you too!”

The smile Perfuma returned was just nauseatingly sweet. Catra coughed, trying to move the conversation on, suddenly regretting her attempt at teasing.

“But yes, like I was saying, I do really think she’ll be helpful!” Perfuma finished, apparently finally done with whatever the most sickeningly pure and sweet version of eye-fucking could be called. Eye-love- no. Actually, she really didn’t want to go down that rabbit trail.

“Yeah, yeah. Fine.” Catra sighed, swallowing her irritation. Perfuma clearly thought she _wanted_ help with this, thanks to Glimmer. _That_ was who she needed to get back at. She’d pick a fight with her pillows or something, the exact details could be hashed out later. Assuming she survived the overwhelming levels of all things light and fluffy her companions seemed to exude from their very beings for however long this took.

By the time the four—Melog had stayed steadfastly by her side—of them got into the city, Catra found herself missing _Bow_. At least he tended to be tempered by his girlfriend, not amplified. Not that it was really their fault, and honestly, Catra was happy for them. They suited each other, and clearly they were enjoying themselves. She was just tired. And frustrated. And nervous. More nervous than she cared to admit. Which was stupid, it was just a party, it wasn’t like it was the only chance she’d have to impress Adora. Or dance with her. Or make up for the Princess Prom-

Ah. So that was the issue.

“ _Found it?_ ”

Catra scratched behind Melog’s ears. Yeah. Apparently she had.

“Here we are!” Apparently Perfuma had too.

“That’s… um,” Catra found herself unable to quite take in the overwhelming amount of color showing through the shop windows. It looked stuffed to the brim with every size, color, and cut of any formal wear known to the world, and probably other worlds too, somehow.

Scorpia appeared equally stumped by the place, “Is there actually room to walk in there?”

“Of course! Come on, let’s find you an outfit, Catra!” As Perfuma marched ahead, Catra exchanged a look with Scorpia.

“If I get suffocated by that mess, I need you to promise me something.”

“Oh, of course! What is it?”

“Destroy all of Glimmer’s pillows. And shoes. And wreak whatever other vengeance you see fit.”

Scorpia’s brow furrowed, then she nodded solemnly, “Well, I already promised, so you got it.”

Steeling herself, Catra walked into the store, Scorpia in tow. Thankfully, as it turned out, there were actually spaces resembling aisles between the overstuffed racks of clothing. Perfuma was already speaking with some employee as they approached.

“Ah, here she is!” suddenly, Perfuma’s hands were on her, guiding her forward, “Catra, this lovely person is going to take some measurements so we can get anything you like tailored to fit you!”

“I know how clothes work, Perfuma,” Catra muttered through gritted teeth. This was fine. A stranger was touching her, but she was fine. Melog was glowing red, but everything was _fine_.

Thankfully, the assistant seemed just as eager to be away from the bristling, not-quite-but-almost growling woman as she was to be away from them, so they got things done quickly and all but ran off with a half-hearted, “Just call if you need anything!”

Once she turned back to Perfuma, Catra groaned. She had her concerned face on. Great.

“Catra, you’re really tense. At first I thought you just were surprised by the shopping trip, but…” Perfuma beckoned her and Scorpia away from the center of the store, finding a secluded spot among the racks. Catra settled against a wall, arms crossed. Shit, she really didn’t want to have this conversation. Not here. Perfuma was trying to do a friend thing, take her out shopping, do something fun, it wasn’t the time to be freaking out.

So _of course_ she was.

And of course Perfuma was going to do something about it. It was just… what she did.

“I just… want this to go well,” Catra said finally, keeping her gaze on Melog. They had stopped bristling, back to their normal blueish hue, though it was dimmer, subdued.

“What makes you think it won’t?” Perfuma asked, quiet.

Catra shrugged, “I dunno. I mean. I guess I don’t think it’ll be bad. I just… it’s stupid. I just really need it to be _good_.”

“It’s gonna be!” she could hear the smile in Scorpia’s voice, “Catra, you’re a great dancer, you’re gonna get an awesome outfit, and we’ll all get to hang out! And I bet there’s gonna be _great_ food, and music and… did I already mention dancing?”

“You did, dear.”

“Right, thanks!” Catra finally looked up, only to find Scorpia still looking at her intently, a surprisingly gentle smile on her face for the amount of enthusiasm in her voice, “Anyway, I think you’ll have a great time. And, if you’re worried about it—I know I worry about it—I think Adora’s going to have a good time with you. …I mean, I’m not worried about Adora—well I am, she’s my friend—but I was specifically comparing you and her to-”

“I get it, Scorpia,” Catra cut her off, really not in the mood for another love fest between her and Perfuma, “…Thanks.”

“Is that what you’re worried about? Adora?” Perfuma asked, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Catra laughed weakly, “Isn’t it always?”

Perfuma just smiled, “You care about her, it’s only natural that you’re concerned about her reactions to you. But Catra, tell me what you know about Adora.”

Catra flinched. It was an exercise they’d done more than once, when Catra’s doubts got the best of her. A helpful one, sure, but…

“Do we have to do this _here_?”

Perfuma shrugged, still gentle, but firm, “You tell me.”

After a moment, Catra shook her head, her voice barely a whisper, “Not out loud.”

Perfuma nodded, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze before turning to Scorpia, “Come on, let’s start looking. A suit, right Catra?”

Catra nodded, relief flooding her as they walked off. Slowly, she sunk to the ground, leaning on Melog. Okay. Maybe it _would_ help.

Adora. Easy stuff first. She was a dork. She was ridiculously strong. She had a sweet tooth.

“ _Comfortable_ ,” Melog supplied, bumping their head against Catra’s as she snorted. Yeah. Comfortable. Adora was comfortable to lay on, and to just… be near. Adora still fought in her sleep, though not as much as she used to. She worried about a lot, all the time. She was working on it. She cared about it. She cared about _her_.

And Adora was proud of her. And impressed by her. She loved her. She wanted her. And, at least according to Glimmer, she was excited about this party. About getting to show off whatever outfit she’d gotten, and, theoretically, about spending the evening together. Well. Maybe not so “theoretically.” Whether or not she said aloud that she was happy every single time they were together—and she certainly said it a _lot_ —Adora’s body language and expressions were always clear. Even when they were clumsy and awkward and nervous and broken, Adora was there and warm and she stayed. Chose to stay.

“ _Chose you._ ”

Smiling, Catra ran a hand over Melog’s head, scritching between their shoulders, even as her heartbeat thrummed in her ears. Yeah. She did.

Catra knew the place Perfuma wanted her to get to. The place that said Adora would have a good time and just be happy they were together. The part that said they could finally have good memories of dancing together. The part that _knew_ Adora had forgiven her past transgressions and could still look back fondly on many of their memories because it was _them_. Catra wasn’t sure if she was there, but she at least knew those places existed somewhere inside her. Maybe it wasn’t enough to settle her nerves entirely, but it was enough to get off the floor, dust herself off, and look for something to really impress her girlfriend.

When she returned to her friends, Scorpia and Perfuma had stacked up a truly impressive pile of jackets, vests, shirts and pants.

“You realize we only have two weeks, right? I’ll be stuck in that dressing room for months,” Catra said, slowly inching toward the stacks with all the respect and fear she’d show to a wild animal. Which was to say, she’d fucking throw down but she’d be careful about it.

Scorpia laughed, “Just try on what you like! We weren’t sure so we kinda just grabbed everything that fit the color palette.”

They really had. Catra had no clue where to start, and was beginning to regret leaving her little introspection corner when Melog bumped their head into the back of her thighs.

“ _Fun?_ ”

Right yeah. This was supposed to be fun.

And it actually wound up being… something like fun anyway. As fun as her nerves were going to let it be. Catra found herself laughing along with the other two when they made jokes, poking fun at weird patterns and unfortunate cuts.

Thankfully, they also managed to achieve their original goal, even if it took longer than anticipated. In the end, Catra settled on a black vest and pants over a red button down.

“Oh, wow, you look great, Wildcat!” Catra grinned, tapping her fist against Scorpia’s claw, still looking it over in the mirror. Yeah. Not bad.

“Here, let me help you with the buttons.” Perfuma reached for the shirt buttons, only for Catra to step back, snorting.

“That’s part of the look.” She hadn’t forgotten the way Adora’s eyes had been glued to her when she wore her jacket. If she could get that kind of response again, then Catra was _more_ than willing to look a little disheveled. Just to be contrary, she flicked another button open, thanking whoever was out there she’d gotten a lifetime membership to the itty bitty titty committee. It wouldn’t have worked nearly as well otherwise.

“Oh! Well, in that case, it looks lovely!” Perfuma sounded the tiniest bit concerned still, but Catra knew she wouldn’t push it.

As they went to bring the outfit up to the clerk, a flash of gold caught Catra’s eye. It was a necklace, a golden chain with a tiny golden sword dangling from it, a matching pin beside it. Upon investigation, Catra was just a _bit_ disappointed to find it wasn’t sharp, but even so…

“Guys, hang on. Two more things I want to get.”

Mission _finally_ accomplished.

* * *

When Adora crawled into bed, Catra immediately gravitated to her, wrapping an arm around her, pulling her flush to her body.

“Cuddly tonight, huh?” Catra could hear the grin in Adora’s voice, even if she couldn’t see it while wrapped around her from behind.

She just nodded, hiding her face in Adora’s broad shoulders, trying desperately to slow her pulse with her scent and the familiar feelings of being close. Like the all too familiar feeling of Adora’s breathing pausing, just for a moment, while she thought. Really more a stutter in the rhythm than a true pause, but it always felt longer to Catra; it was pretty much always the signal that she’d been caught.

“You okay?” Adora asked after one of those too-long moments.

Catra swallowed her pride and her nerves and shook her head. No, not really.

“You good if I turn around?”

Another nod, and Adora shifted in her arms, shuffling until they were facing each other, close enough that their foreheads pressed together and their noses brushed, and she could wrap her arms around Catra’s waist.

For a little while, they stayed like that, long enough that Catra could differentiate between her own racing heart and Adora’s, that she could feel the tiny tremors running through her muscles.

“Tomorrow, right?” Adora finally said, more a statement than a question.

“Yeah.”

“Me too.”

A breath Catra hadn’t known she’d been holding whooshed out in something like a laugh, “Oh thank _god_ I’m not the only one.”

Adora grinned weakly, “Balls and boobs, apparently our biggest weaknesses. ...Or… fear of messing them up, I guess.” With the way her voice trailed off, Catra wasn’t sure if Adora meant to say the last part aloud. Better to ease into it gently then.

“Adora, I would be _impressed_ if you could somehow mess up my-” Catra’s snark was cut off by a disgruntled noise and something she supposed was meant to be a headbutt, but honestly felt more like a nuzzle.

“You know what I mean.”

She did. Catra sighed, closing her eyes a moment. This was Adora. It was safe to talk to her. She was safe.

“It feels weirdly… important.”

“Exactly!” Adora’s cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, “And it, this whole reaction thing feels-”

“Dumb?” A weak grin quirked Catra’s lips in spite of the moment, strengthened by the way Adora’s shoulders sagged with relief.

“Yeah. It’s a _party_. It’s supposed to be fun. But then I remember I haven’t danced in a long time, and I start worrying about my outfit and maybe it’s too much, but it’s _definitely_ too late to change that now and I just… I want it to be special for us. For you,” Adora’s voice was soft, almost sad, tugging at those same fears in Catra’s mind. Unable to find the words for a moment, Catra tilted her head, gently kissing the corner of her mouth.

“Me too. I… I want this to go perfectly. I want to make it up to you, for last time.” Quiet as they were, the words slipped out easier than Catra had anticipated. Maybe she really was getting better at the whole ‘talking things out’ thing.

Adora seemed a little startled by the quick cut to the heart of the matter, but that flash of determination in her eyes said she wasn’t going to back down now that it had been addressed.

“So do I.”

Catra frowned, leaning back a little, “Adora, _you_ didn’t exactly blow up the hosting location or kidnap anyone.”

“And I’m not worried you will!” Adora countered, “But I _did_ follow you around yelling at you the whole time and… I know things were different. But it’s also… it’s our only moment like that. So this first chance to exchange it for something better feels, well, like you said. Important.”

“You know, I _was_ going to get to that too,” Catra grumbled, cuddling close again, “We need to stop having the same issues at the same time. Messes up our dramatic speeches.”

Adora laughed, nuzzling her hair, “Who wore it best? Next up: anxiety!” In spite of, or maybe _because_ of the ridiculous way they got there, Catra burst into giggles, punching Adora’s arm lightly.

“ _Not_ fair. You don’t get to be a dork while I’m trying to talk about feelings,” Catra flashed a little grin as her eyes met Adora’s. She wasn’t really annoyed, and Catra caught the answering relief in her eyes.

“Sorry,” Adora murmured anyway, though her little grin stayed, “I did kinda barge through that one, was there more you wanted to say?”

Catra shrugged, “I mean, you nailed it. It feels like this needs to be perfect to make up for what we didn’t have.”

Adora nodded, then hummed thoughtfully, eyes taking on that distant look she got when she was really thinking through something. Catra busied herself with running Adora’s silky hair over her fingers while Adora traced little patterns along her arms, following some trail through her fur only she could see.

“What if we agree to just go for ‘better’?” Her eyes focused again, finding Catra’s own.

“That seems like kind of a low bar,” Catra scoffed. No kidnapping, no bombs, no being on opposing sides of a war. Easy enough.

“Exactly! We go in with that as our plan, there’s no way we screw it up,” beaming, Adora grabbed her hand, “It’ll already be better at baseline since we’ll actually be going together.”

Catra laughed, pulling their hands to her face, kissing Adora’s gently, “You’re a sap.”

“Says the one kissing my hand. But what do you think?”

It seemed… almost too simple. But if they agreed, if that was all Adora wanted, all she expected, then maybe, _maybe_ it would be enough to settle her. It wasn’t like Catra didn’t know worrying about it would only make it worse, and she suspected Adora was in the same boat. They were worried about fucking up, and worried about that worry fucking things up. If this had _any_ chance of getting rid of or even easing that, then fuck it. It was worth a shot.

Catra shifted, sticking out the hand she wasn’t already holding one of Adora’s in, “You promise that’s what you want. ‘Better’?”

Adora nodded, awkwardly grasping Catra’s hand in her free one, “I promise. I think ‘better’ is going to be pretty awesome.”

Catra leaned in, kissing that hopeful smile into a dopey grin, “Then it’s a deal. I promise too.”

* * *

“Alright, Adora, all yours!”

Catra got a quick peck on the cheek as Adora rushed by, arms full of what appeared to be a lot of red, presumably the mysterious and wonderful outfit. Grinning, she went to the closet, pulling her own clothing from its hiding space behind the snow gear. They hadn’t used it since the last time they’d been to Frosta’s kingdom months ago. All right. Showtime.

Or it would be showtime if Adora ever returned from the bathroom. It only took Catra a couple minutes to pull on her outfit, and after a few more minutes of nervous pacing, Catra flopped on the bed with a grunt. It wasn’t like she could really complain, not with how long it took her to dry off, but _still_. She needed to do something. Nerves and excitement filled her with an energy she didn’t have anything to do with yet, not unless she was going to start climbing furniture.

Melog meowed from their perch on top of a bookshelf.

“Rub it in, why don’t you,” Catra grumbled, stretching. The burn felt nice, but didn’t do much to help. She could feel her pulse rushing, bringing with it a sense of intense anticipation. Their promise seemed to actually be helping, but that hardly got rid of all her nervousness. The evening held a lot of unknowns, not the least of which was what her girlfriend was wearing. That particular unknown had starred in a number of her more pleasant dreams, and daydreams, and just general active thoughts over the past weeks.

Catra tugged at the tiny poof of a ponytail she’d wrestled her hair into. It was just long enough now that she could pull some of it back, and it felt… different. She thought it looked kind of nice, a different look to go with a different outfit, but Adora’s reaction was the one she was concerned about. Kind of. Adora looked at her with the same awestruck expression first thing in the morning or after a long workout as she did when she actually _tried_ to look presentable, so it probably wasn’t a cause for concern.

But really, it would help if she just returned. Catra had half a mind to lean on the door, scratch at it just to annoy her into hurrying up. It was a testament to that self-control she’d been working on that she remained on the bed instead, flexing all her claws into the mattress for some sort of outlet. Her tail lashed so violently she sent a few of the smaller pillows flying. Whatever. They were _almost_ useless anyway. Almost.

“ _Run?_ ” Melog had appeared by the bed, crouched and ready to pounce.

“You go ahead. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“ _Fun._ ” The word seemed less like well-wishing and more like a command, a feeling only amplified by the hard stare they gave before darting away, out to and off the balcony. Groaning, Catra pushed herself back to her feet, fiddling with one of her sleeves that had slipped down from where she’d pushed it up. After re-doing both sleeves—this level of intentional messiness required a decent amount of work, she was finding—Catra fished the little boxes out of her pockets. Taking the pin from one, Catra affixed it to her vest. It stood out nicely against the dark material; Catra grinned at her reflection in the dresser mirror. Yeah, not bad at all.

The sound of the bathroom door opening nearly made her drop the box for the necklace. As it was, she fumbled it, sending it clattering onto the dresser. Fine, that was fine, she could grab it-

Oh.

 _Wow_.

Catra wasn’t sure how long it took to develop sentient thought again, all she knew was A) _Holy shit, Adora_ and B) Adora didn’t seem to be doing any better in the whole thought department, if her wide-eyed stare and the fact that she’d flushed from her hairline all the way down…

Wow.

She’d been right about the red being her outfit, a suit, roughly the same color as her dress had been. A suit with what seemed to be only a black sports bra underneath. Her hair was different too, parted to the side in a low, loose ponytail, no signature poof, her hair just framing her face. Despite having her shirt unbuttoned to her sternum, Catra’s throat felt tight. Was Adora _trying_ to kill her? Or maybe she decided this party was a dumb idea after all and they could just spend the evening in their room.

In a surprise twist, it was Adora who found her voice first.

“Wow.” Ah, good, they were both incredibly eloquent.

“Holy shit.” So, _so_ very eloquent.

They were both frozen to the spot, unable to tear their eyes from each other, and apparently unable to form actual sentences. Adora was still halfway in the bathroom doorway, practically mid-stride. And looking absolutely fucking stunning anyway. Holy shit. Catra had never realized how badly she’d needed to see Adora in a suit. This was. Wow. This was probably the start of a thing. Just. Wow. Muscles. And a suit. And Adora.

“I… guess we can add formal wear to that list of weaknesses.” Catra knew Adora was doing her _absolute best_ to try to break them from their stupor, but her voice was so strained it wasn’t really helping.

“Adora,” Catra cleared her throat, trying again for a tone that _didn’t_ sound like she wanted to pin her down and ruin that very nice suit before they could go anywhere, “Adora, you were worried I wouldn’t like _this_?”

If it was possible, Catra could swear Adora turned even redder. It was bordering on concerning.

“I thought maybe it would be too much,” she mumbled, clearly embarrassed but also clearly still unable to look away.

“You’re fucking beautiful.” Now free of the ‘I want to ravish you’ voice, apparently next on Catra’s playlist was something landing solidly in the ‘reverent and worshipful’ category. She’d also meant to say something more actively reassuring than that. Complete sentences apparently didn’t mean complete restoration of higher mental functions.

Adora’s reaction though, well, maybe what she said was actually fine. Delight in those big blue eyes, a shy smile on her lips… slowly growing into something just this side of smug.

“Careful, I might think you actually like me.”

_There’s my girl._

Catra grinned, finally able to make her legs move, stepping closer, almost prowling into Adora’s space, “Says the one who still can’t take her eyes off me.”

Catra’s pulse was definitely still racing, but it was nearly all excitement at this point. Adora was clearly trying to hide the way her breath hitched with a shrug, that smirk still in place. Catra wondered how long it would take to kiss it off.

“Not like I can help it when you’re this…” Adora trailed off, gesturing somewhat desperately at Catra, who’d started circling, mostly to get a better view of her outfit.

“What, cat got your tongue?”

That seemed to snap her back to the present. Adora grinned, finally gaining control of her major motor functions, turning to keep Catra in view.

“You wish.”

“I think you’re projecting.”

“You’re gorgeous, but _you_ were the one who sounded like you wanted to eat me earlier.”

Catra did her best to ignore the flutter of warmth the compliment sparked—and the spark of arousal. Adora was sweet and lovely and ridiculously attractive, and they could deal with that _later_ , when she’d won.

Finally reaching out, Catra brushed her fingers over Adora’s still red cheeks, “You don’t look like you minded.”

They’d finally wound up face to face, both breathing significantly harder than the actual effort exerted would have required, both grinning, both flushed. Fine. Maybe it was a draw. For now.

“I, uh. Off topic, kinda, but I do have something for you,” Catra stepped back a little, swallowing.

The tension seemed to snap; Adora practically stumbled, smiling sheepishly as she found her footing again. It reminded her of the tension when they used to spar on the roof or tease each other in whispers on Adora’s bunk, but different. Freer. _Better_. No residual guilt, thinking Adora might not mean it the same way.

Catra grabbed the jewelry box from the dresser, flicking it open to show Adora, who’d followed her over.

“Uh. Yeah. This is uh, a necklace. Which you can see. It matches,” Catra gestured at the pin on her vest, wondering where the hell the confidence from like, a _minute_ ago had gone and if she could get it back.

The look on Adora’s face helped a bit. She was beaming, a bit teary-eyed as she reached out, running a finger over the little blade. Then Catra was yanked into what she was sure was the tightest hug she’d ever experienced, Scorpia’s included.

“Thank you,” Adora whispered, that huge smile still audible in her voice. Something between relief and joy bubbled up and escaped Catra in a laugh as she hugged her back. As they pulled back, Adora paused, then suddenly leaned in, catching her off guard in a kiss. Catra let out something like a yelp, still feeling like her brain was moving about three seconds behind the world around her.

Adora broke the kiss immediately, Catra’s arms around her the only thing stopping her from moving away completely.

“Sorry, are you okay? I just got excited- I didn’t hurt you did-”

“Hey,” Catra cut her off, having finally caught up to the present, bonking her head against Adora’s, “Adora, _relax_. I was just startled, still kinda… floaty. Take two?”

Adora laughed weakly, “Yeah. Sorry, I’m just-”

“Nervous?”

“Weirdly so, yeah,” Adora shrugged, “Kind of an excited nervous though. I dunno.”

“Me too,” Catra grinned, “Everything feels all loose and weird and… _good_.”

Nodding enthusiastically, Adora continued, “It almost doesn’t feel real, but it _is_ and you’re here and we’re going to a party together and we can dance together and we can just _enjoy_ it.”

This time, neither of them were startled when their lips found each other’s. Or when Adora nipped at her lower lip. Or when she slid her tongue against Catra’s as soon as she parted her lips.

Catra was certain they hadn’t been kissing nearly long enough when Adora drew back and turned.

“Help me with the necklace?”

Those shoulders though. It took genuine effort to focus on the necklace long enough to get it unclasped, and an embarrassingly long time to get it secured around Adora’s neck. Her fingers just did _not_ want to cooperate.

“You okay back there?” There was concern, but Catra didn’t miss the teasing lilt in her voice.

“I’m fine!” Finally the clasp looped through the proper spot, and it was all Catra could do to keep from cheering.

“I bet you just wanted an excuse to get my hands on you,” she joked instead, hoping to save a little face after nearly being defeated by her own gift.

“What if I did?”

Catra knew Adora hadn’t originally meant it to come out like that. It had started as a comeback, snappy and teasing, but somewhere along the line, her voice faltered. It had ended somewhere vulnerable and honest and hopeful. Whatever the original intent, it had a new one by the end. A confession.

Adora’s ears were red again, and Catra knew she wasn’t doing any better. She didn’t have the words for everything going through her head. Neither of them did. So Catra did what they always had; she didn’t speak. Instead, she let her hands linger against Adora’s neck a little longer, didn’t break contact as she slid them down to her shoulders, squeezing lightly, holding until she felt the stiff muscles relax under her fingers. Adora turned toward her then, still red, but smiling.

“We should probably get going, huh?” Oh. Right. Damn Adora’s sense of duty.

Adora took a step back toward the bedroom door, her whole face still lit up. Even if she might have rather stayed and explored that confession a little longer, when Adora held a hand out, Catra took it immediately. Of course she did.

* * *

The celebration was simultaneously every bit and not nearly as overwhelming as Catra had feared. The ballroom was full of people, but with the massive doors out to the courtyard open, it didn’t feel as crowded as it could have. As she and Adora walked in, hand in hand, both of them seemed to lock in on the colorful cluster of their friends at the same time. A quick squeeze and a pause for one in response and they were off, dodging guests, offering Micah a wave as they passed. Formal manners could suck it for a bit, they lived with this guy. Besides, he hardly seemed to mind, waving back with a smile.

Mermista was the first to notice their approach, nodding to them. A normal level of enthusiasm for greeting people she saw every couple weeks at least, Catra thought.

“Ladies!” Sea Hawk’s enthusiastic bellowing was… not. But whatever, it did the job. Scorpia and Perfuma moved to the side, making room as everyone greeted them.

“Is Entrapta not here yet?” Adora asked, scanning the immediate vicinity.

“She’s… somewhere?” Bow offered with a shrug, “I saw her when people were first arriving, but not since. Wrong Hordak’s been camping by the food though, so I figure she hasn’t left.”

“We were wondering when you guys would get here though,” Glimmer’s grin was all too smug, “Seeing as you live in the same building and all.”

Adora was blushing again, ducking her head as she spoke, “Sorry Glimmer, it was my fault. I showered _way_ too late and my hair wasn’t cooperating.”

Wait. She was embarrassed for _that_? Glimmer also appeared a bit thrown that her tease didn’t land.

“I… It’s okay, you’re not even late. People just got here early,” Glimmer gestured to the musicians, only just starting to play, “Don’t worry about it, okay? And your hair looks really nice!”

As the conversation shifted, settling back into whatever was going on before they arrived—apparently Frosta had plans to challenge Netossa to a dance-off—Catra glanced at Adora, an eyebrow raised. Adora caught her look, a tiny grin playing at her lips as she winked.

Catra had to smother a laugh. Well played, point Adora _._ Every once in a while that reputation for obliviousness actually came in handy.

It wasn’t long before Micah announced the first dance. Glimmer and Bow were the first ones on the floor, beaming at each other as they moved. Another little flutter of warmth. Away from the group, they only seemed to have eyes for each other, and Catra couldn’t help her smile. Hypocritical though the thought was, they were fucking _cute_ , and she was actually, genuinely happy for them.

“Shall we?” Adora’s voice was quiet, her breath warm against Catra’s ear. She slipped her hand from Catra’s, only to offer it again, grinning.

“You’re a dork.” Catra took her hand again, feeling lighter than air as Adora lead her onto the floor where other couples and groups had started to join in.

The first few steps were awkward. Both of them were attempting to lead, which resulted in three false starts before they dissolved into giggles.

“I’ll do this one, you take the next?” Catra suggested.

“Sounds good.”

A couple fumbling steps later, they fell into rhythm, and as soon as she was certain they weren’t likely to trip over each other, Catra’s mind wandered. Well. No. Wandered wasn’t the right word. Catra was incredibly present, just not for the dance itself. That was just moving, Adora was the important part. Adora’s hand in hers, a little sweaty, warm, and not letting go. Adora’s body, close enough that she could feel the heat coming off her, but not _quite_ touching anywhere but where their hands rested. Adora’s expression, somehow bright and soft all at once, loving, enraptured, and undeniably happy. Catra smiled back, real and warm and open. Fuck everyone. If anyone was paying attention to them, they’d just have to be jealous they weren’t her.

Catra pulled Adora a little closer on the next turn, savoring the laugh that escaped her when she did. Adora was blushing—she really hadn’t _stopped_ blushing to some degree since she’d left the restroom—and beaming at her. Because of her.

Adora had been right; ‘better’ was _wonderful_.

By the time the song had ended, they’d drifted even closer together, resting their foreheads against each other. Distantly, Catra was aware of the tempo shifting, a new song starting, but she wasn’t quite ready to give this up, a purr starting to rumble in her chest.

“Ready for another dance?” Adora’s voice was gentle, her ‘checking in’ tone. Catra shook her head, slowly guiding them out of the way of other dancers.

“Can we stay like this for a bit?” Close, swaying, just breathing each other in. Just for a minute. She just needed a moment to remind herself this was happening and Adora wanted this and her and they were safe. The mute nod she got in response told her Adora might’ve needed this too.

So for another moment, they stayed, wrapped in silent conversation. ‘ _I’m here_ ,’ Adora’s arms around her shoulders. ‘ _Me too_ ,’ gentle pressure around Adora’s waist, a soft smile on Catra’s lips, ‘ _Thank you_.’ Muscles softening around Adora’s eyes, ‘ _Always._ ’

As the song changed again, Catra’s purr turned into more of a hum, following the music. She was finally feeling a little more solid. Adora’s hands slid down to her waist, still close enough that Catra could practically feel her smile.

“Ready?”

“Are you?” The taunt brought a grin to Adora’s face as she answered by taking Catra’s hand and stepping into the next dance.

Catra had let herself slip away from the actual movements when she lead, but Adora had trained that single-minded focus onto the two of them. It was intense in the best sort of way, the way she guided their movements, practically every twitch part of moving the two of them across the floor. As clumsy as she could be, Adora had spent years honing her control of her body, and it was more than a little impressive when she made that work for her. Sure, the way she danced was a little stiff, but that mattered less than the way she was looking at Catra. Like she was the whole world. Like she was the only thing worth focusing on. That tension Adora always carried in her shoulders had loosened, just a bit, like maybe she could handle the weight of the world if it was just one person.

Focusing on the dance was intense in its own right. Each pass they made across the other’s space, so _close_ to touching, but then there was only the rustle of cloth against cloth, hands grazing over each other’s sides and back, before they were back in the main position, hand in hand, grinning at each other.

As the song drew to a close, Catra felt the hand at her waist shift to her lower back while the one in her hand let go, moving between her shoulders. Then, suddenly, the world shifted, and her weight was pretty much entirely supported by Adora, who was grinning down at her, eyes sparkling with mischief.

“I’ve been waiting _years_ to do this.”

Catra laughed, doing her best to ignore the heady rush reminders of Adora’s strength always gave her, “To dip me?”

Adora shifted, pulling her upright with a sheepish grin, “Yeah?”

“You’re a fucking dork,” Catra muttered, bumping their heads together before moving past her, tail trailing over Adora’s wrist, “Come on, I’m hungry.”

The night continued like that, shifting between dancing and sampling food and drinks. Catra was sure they spoke to their friends somewhere in there too. She vaguely remembered Bow roping them and Glimmer into one of those silly, partner switching dances, but honestly, pretty much all of her brain that _hadn’t_ been taken out in the devastating first strike of Adora’s outfit was focused on Adora herself. On the way she held her during each dance, the way her hands lingered on her waist and shoulders, warm and gentle. On the way she looked at her, how soft her gaze was, even when she was teasing, meeting her joke for joke with an easiness Catra hadn’t seen since they were kids.

Adora was trusting her, Catra realized suddenly, watching her smirk melt back into the brilliant smile she’d had all evening. Trusting her to say or signal when she’d had enough. Trusting that they could read each other like they always had, now with an honesty they’d only recently been able to tap into. Trusting they’d find the edge of ‘too much’ together and cross it when it wasn’t anymore.

Catra couldn’t be held responsible for the way her whole body responded to that realization, the sudden rush of warmth and love and joy that threatened to knock the breath out of her. Holy shit.

“I love you,” Catra murmured, probably apropos of nothing actually currently going on if the brief flash of surprise on Adora’s face was anything to go by.

A crooning “Awww” brought Catra fully back to the moment, standing with Bow, Glimmer, and Entrapta, a half-eaten plate of tiny sweets in her hand. Cool, whatever ghost had been controlling her while her mind was otherwise occupied apparently at least remembered she needed to eat. Or maybe that was Adora.

“I love you too,” Adora replied, still smiling, searching Catra’s face like if she looked hard enough she could figure out where the hell that had come from. She flicked her tail against Adora’s hand. Later.

If she’d been asked, Catra couldn’t have given a good estimate of when ‘later’ actually wound up being. Sure, after that point she felt a bit more present, aware of contributing to conversations, dancing, dipping Adora more than once while they did. But much of that awareness was dedicated to Adora and the way she stood straighter as they walked around, like she was proud to have her on her arm, to dance with her, to be seen with her. If that wasn’t an ego booster, Catra wasn’t sure what would be. If she was distracted, it seemed Adora was just as caught up in her.

Fuck it. They’d have more parties to spend with their friends. This one could just be for them.

“Maybe we should head out too,” Adora suggested well into the evening, eyes tracking a wave of guests vacating the room.

Frosta had left not long ago, as had Scorpia and Perfuma. The others were still scattered about, Glimmer and Bow, and Spinnerella and Netossa on the dance floor, Entrapta still talking animatedly with Sea Hawk and Mermista out in the courtyard. Or at least with Sea Hawk. When they’d last been by, they’d been discussing the perfect Molotov, and with as much enthusiasm as they’d had then, that could very well _still_ be what they were talking about.

“Done for now?” Catra looked up at her, trying to gauge where she was.

“With this, yeah. It was… it was really amazing, Catra. Thank you.” Catra was tempted to kiss that soft, sweet smile off her face, if only to give herself a chance to recover from it.

Instead, she responded with one of her own, allowing that same softness to creep into her voice, “It really was. Thank you right back.”

“We should probably say bye though.”

“Ugh, fine, if you want to be _polite_.”

Catra cackled as Adora shoved her along. Fine, apparently politeness was on the agenda.

Thankfully it was a quick process, everyone content to just wish them a good night. Or everyone but Glimmer, anyway.

“Good night guys!” Bow said, waving even as he and Glimmer continued to dance. Glimmer waved as well, but caught Catra’s eye as Adora started to walk away. Glimmer’s smirk, the look in her eyes, well. She didn’t need to know her for her whole life to interpret that one. Catra turned away without a retort, something between embarrassment and hopefulness pounding in her chest.

* * *

Once they were away from the part of the castle open to the public and on their way to their room, Adora paused, leaning against a wall. Just as Catra was about to ask what was going on, Adora started giggling, something high pitched and nervous. And excited. Catra couldn’t help but join in, all but collapsing against the wall beside Adora. Wow, okay, cool. Apparently they were both dorks… and evidently both scared shitless at the moment.

It took a moment to catch her breath, but once she did, Catra looked up at Adora. She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for or what she was trying to offer, but in the end she felt a little smile tug at her lips, soft and painfully hopeful. Adora’s answering look was nothing short of heart stopping. Catra felt her heart in her throat, worried for a moment she might actually collapse. There was just so much love there, and trust and something she was afraid to name because she didn’t want to be wrong.

“Take three?” Adora’s voice shook, her hands trembling between them, reaching out but not quite touching.

Catra was overwhelmed with the urge, the _need_ to hold her, to assure her in no uncertain terms how much she was loved and wanted and how proud she was that she was asking for things, voicing her desire, if somewhat indirectly. To tell her how much she wanted what she was really hoping Adora was asking for. Unable to find the words, Catra lifted a hand, caressing Adora’s cheek, and drew her into a kiss. Still able to feel Adora shaking, Catra pulled her closer in her own unsteady arms, doing her damnedest to prove everything she couldn’t figure out how to say in a way that would capture the depth of what she meant. How much she loved her. How much she meant to her. How badly she wanted her. And going by the way Adora kissed back, held her, cradling her face with a gentleness she seemed to reserve specifically for her, as much as those scared, angry parts of her tried to protest, Catra was pretty damn sure Adora wanted her the same way.

When they finally parted, they were both still caught in that haze of nervous giggles. Adora stepped back, clearly still anxious, but grinning.

In what Catra had to assume was an attempt at an impression of a noblewoman, Adora dipped into some sort of bow-curtsy combo, fluttering her eyelashes dramatically as she offered her hand, “Do walk me home, gallant miss?”

Even as her giggles turned into outright laughter, Catra took her hand, kissed the back of it appropriately dramatically. Fucking _dork_.

“Of course, princess.” Catra could hardly get through the sentence she was laughing so hard, but it didn’t matter because Adora was laughing too.

She was sure she was going to explode with all the warmth pressing against her ribs, making her breath hitch and heart stutter, but she wasn’t running from the feeling. She was pursuing it.

Pursing it apparently _did_ involve some actual running though. They were still laughing, practically sprinting down the hall, pulling each other around corners. It was like all those childhood memories, but a million times better. No hiding anymore, from others or each other or themselves. They burst into their room, panting, breathless and beaming.

Then the door swung closed.

Catra hesitated, noting the same nervous energy returning to Adora’s eyes.

“I…” Adora bit her lip, “This is another one of those… not very well thought out middle bits.”

With a confidence she didn’t quite feel, Catra snorted, taking both of Adora’s hands. Gods, they were both idiots.

“We’ll figure it out, we usually do,” Catra hesitated, then continued, quieter, “Might be a good idea to figure out where we’re trying to get to first though?” She thought—hoped—she had a relatively good idea, but wanted confirmation.

Adora’s blush was practically confirmation on its own, but she waited, wanting to hear it.

“I, uh. Words. Okay! So uh… you know how we were joking around earlier? And I said… stuff. And you did too. And uh… this is so much more awkward than I meant it to be,” Adora groaned.

Catra was doing everything in her power not to laugh, because really, they were ridiculous, but she also knew she wouldn’t be doing any better had she been the one forced to answer. Part of the reason she asked first. Doing her best to be supportive, Catra ran her thumbs in little circles over Adora’s hands, like she’d seen Adora do countless times.

Adora closed her eyes, breathing deeply, like she was gearing up for a speech.

“Sex,” That was… significantly more blunt than Catra had been prepared for, but Adora didn’t appear to be anywhere close to done, “I’d like to do that, with you, if you want, which I know is not super specific but honestly I really couldn’t be more specific if I tried because I don’t know what I like really, I mean I kind of do, but as we’ve proven, it’s different with you, and you have a mouth, and anyway I also don’t know what you like, I mean I know some things but not like that, and you probably maybe are in the same boat as I am, and I also have a mouth because yeah, we have mouths, we eat things that’s a thing, and that’s probably new for both of us, I mean it’s definitely new to me and I. Uh. I lost track of what I was saying, but also there’s no pressure because I love you and I’m happy doing the same stuff we have been forever if you want, I-”

“-Need to calm down,” Catra interrupted, finding her voice again. Okay. Well. She’d been right. Which was exciting. And terrifying. Mostly exciting.

“As we’ve established, neither of us has a fucking clue what we’re doing, at least whenever we try something new. And it’s still been good. So… yeah,” Catra said with a smile, hoping to put some of her girlfriend’s many, _many_ nerves at ease, “We can just… figure it out as we go?”

The dorky little grin on Adora’s face certainly eased some of _her_ nerves.

“Soooo… you wanna?”

Catra rolled her eyes, grinning right back, “Yes, I do, happy now?”

“Well, I mean, you didn’t actually technically _say_ it before so-” Catra cut her off with a kiss, feeling just a bit too fried to keep up with another rambling monologue. Because. Wow. This was actually happening. Adora wanted to and she wanted to and she wasn’t dreaming.

“-I just wanted to check,” Adora finished as they parted for air.

“Dork. But uh, thanks.”

Adora grinned, then stepped back a little, something on the border of shy and playful in her eyes as she turned, facing away, “Help me with my necklace?”

Like earlier, Catra’s hands just would not cooperate as she fiddled with the clasp, earning a quiet laugh from Adora.

“Shut up, you haven’t even tried,” she grumbled, finally unlatching it and pulling it off Adora. She _wanted_ to dive straight into kissing her again, but the necklace was pretty nice, and she knew she should take the pin off before one of them accidentally got stabbed.

“Don’t go anywhere,” Catra murmured, practically running over to the dresser to put the necklace and pin away. Once she was satisfied they were secured in their boxes, she turned to find Adora had, of course, not stayed where she was, and instead had scooted a few feet to the left, grinning, brow quirked in a challenge.

“What?” she asked, “I didn’t go anywhere.”

Catra just snorted, returning to boop Adora’s nose, delighting in the scrunched up face she made, “Very cute. Turn around, I’ll get your jacket.”

“Wow, undressing me already?” Adora’s words were undermined by the fact that she’d turned around immediately, unbuttoning the front so Catra could pull it down off her shoulders. Admittedly, some of the reason she’d offered was to have an excuse to run her hands over Adora’s shoulders and back, trail a few kisses over scars and bumps… It was a truly impressive feat of will to pull away.

“Trying to be a good girlfriend and make sure we don’t ruin your nice new clothes,” she tossed the jacket onto a chair nearby; maybe not the recommended treatment, but better than staying where it was, “Besides, you’re about the same color anyway.”

“Not really _my_ fault,” Adora turned back around to loop her arms over Catra’s shoulders as Catra’s hands settled on her hips, pulling her closer, “I kinda have a gorgeous woman undressing me, it’s a pretty natural reaction.” Something softer cut through her banter, that same earnestness Adora always had when complimenting her.

“'Gorgeous’, huh?” Catra tried to keep that shy hopefulness out of her voice, she really did, but the warmth she got from Adora’s compliments was addictive. Even more than the words, it was the matter-of-fact way she said it. Like yeah, duh. They had way too many moons, Catra was beautiful, and water was wet. Just facts everyone knew.

“Mmhmm, stunning too,” Adora moved to thread her fingers through Catra’s hair, sending the hair tie—which had been giving a truly valiant effort with just over an inch of ponytail to hold onto—flying.

“Needed to get that out anyway,” Catra laughed, smoothing the look of surprise off Adora’s face, “It was kinda giving me a headache. I have no idea how you can keep yours in all day.”

“Years of practice,” Adora paused, then pulled lightly at Catra’s shirt, voice a little softer “Can I?”

“ _Please_.” Catra was beginning to realize her battle for control over her voice was a losing fight. She’d meant to be encouraging, making sure Adora knew everything was good, that she wanted this, ya know, good supportive girlfriend things. She certainly _hadn’t_ meant to sound like she’d been waiting, oh, several hours for that.

But once again, Adora’s response was what she’d hoped for, a delighted grin and eager fingers making short work of her vest and shirt, humming appreciatively at her lack of a bra. Catra almost wondered if she’d practiced with how efficient she was. ...That _would_ be something Adora would do.

Before she could ask, Adora had her hands on Catra’s waist, and was grinning at her so brightly Catra forgot what she’d been thinking about. Probably not important, nowhere near as important as trying to commit that expression to memory.

“I love you,” Adora’s voice was warm, steady. It seemed no matter how anxious she got, Adora was always able to say that with complete confidence, and no matter how many times Catra heard it, that confidence always soothed her.

“I love you too.” She could only hope it did the same for Adora.

Catra’s fingers danced over the waistband of Adora’s pants, even as Adora slid her hands down to Catra’s hips, hands splayed over her belt.

“In the spirit of not ruining nice clothes, maybe these should come off too?” Adora smiled, hopeful and sweet.

“Pretty _and_ smart,” Catra laughed, moving to undo her belt, only to find Adora was still holding on.

“Can I?” Oh. _Oh_ , she liked Adora’s eager voice even better than her breathless one. Maybe. Maybe it was a tie. But it was great in any case, as was the delighted grin and flash of hunger in her eyes when Catra lifted her hands.

“All yours.” And that little shiver those words seemed to elicit. That was terrific too.

Adora made quick work of her belt, then-

Then once again, Catra forgot how breathing worked.

Logically, the movement made sense. There was no way that wouldn’t be _immensely_ awkward that Adora could help remove her pants and remain standing. But _still_. What the hell was she supposed to do with Adora kneeling in front of her, head level with her hips, looking up- oh.

Catra stepped out of the pants pooled around her ankles, kicking them off somewhere to be dealt with later. Cool. That was dealt with.

_So why was Adora still on the floor?_

That smug grin was all the answer she really needed.

“Asshole. I’m _dying_ up here, Adora.”

Adora apparently was willing to let that happen, almost absently trailing her hands over Catra’s thighs, smoothing her fur, “Did you know your tail goes all rigid and fuzzy sometimes when we kiss? And also apparently right now?”

Cool. Cool. Apparently the smug voice was _also_ doing something for her. Catra groaned, and evidently she sounded pained enough that Adora took some mercy on her, standing again. Only _some_ though, as she also seemed committed to keeping her hands on Catra’s body, running them up her sides, over her shorts, settling back at her waist.

“You good?” She was definitely still smirking, but her voice was gentler.

Catra nodded, “Yeah. Just. Holy shit.” How the hell was she supposed to explain the enormity of what she was feeling? They were close, _so close_ to something she’d wanted for basically as long as she could have wanted it. She was reeling and anxious and excited and aroused and absolutely did _not_ know what to do with all of that at once.

“What about you?” Catra asked. Adora had seemed more than eager, but she knew she had to work hard to ask for this.

“Nervous, but uh, good. Really good,” Adora grinned then, gently taking Catra’s hands, settling them on her hips, “Also ready to get rid of these, if you are?”

Catra was about ready to burst with pride, but she figured the better reward for Adora actually asking for what she wanted was to, ya know, give it to her, instead of having another conversation in the middle of undressing each other.

Sinking to her knees, and absolutely _cherishing_ the soft, “ _Oh wow_ ,” she got, Catra quickly slid the pants off, offering a hand for balance as Adora kicked them off. And really, Catra could have stayed right there, perfectly happy, hands on Adora’s thighs, running her hands over the fine hair there, basking in her heat and scent and presence. But. There were things on the agenda. So she just left a little kiss on one thigh, then stood, quite pleased with the dumbstruck look on Adora’s face.

“I… am sorry I teased you,” slowly coming back to herself, Adora grinned at Catra, “Not to put too fine a point on it, but... bed? If you’re ready?”

They’d spent what felt like _years_ undressing and Catra had not spent _nearly_ enough time kissing Adora so, yeah. She was ready.

Crossing the room was probably going to take a few more years, however, because Adora also seemed to have realized they hadn’t been kissing nearly enough, and was determined to rectify that _immediately_ instead of once they had actually reached their destination. Catra didn’t really put up much of an argument though, just one longing glance at the fluffy mattress before Adora parted her lips and gave her much better things to think about.

At least until her feet were suddenly no longer on the ground.

“Wh- Adora!” Catra sputtered, legs and arms wrapping around her absolute _asshole_ of a girlfriend, who had the gall to laugh at her, even with her claws digging into her shoulders.

“Hmmm?” Looking every bit the little shit that she was, Adora smirked at her, and no, Catra did _not_ almost moan when she adjusted her grip on the backs of her thighs.

“You-” Adora apparently wasn’t actually interested in hearing her complaints. Which… fair. She was probably entirely aware Catra could get down if she really wanted. But still. It was the principle of the thing. But that all kind of flew out the window because Adora was kissing her again and, theoretically, they were making progress toward their destination.

Around the time Adora had abandoned Catra’s lips to start her new campaign of kissing _every_ freckle on her face, Catra realized they’d finally reached the bed.

“Come here, dork,” she mumbled, slipping out of Adora’s arms just long enough to flop back on the soft mattress. After taking a moment, watching Catra with that wonderful intensity that both warmed her and sent heat shooting down her spine, Adora crawled over her, straddling her thighs.

“Hi,” Adora murmured, lips finding Catra’s neck, trailing soft, open mouthed kisses down it that had no right to be as arousing at they were, what with the way she kept starting and stopping, searching Catra’s face for approval.

The first sound Catra made was a whine, which, no, not what she was going for, but Adora sure seemed to appreciate it anyway, if the way her hands stuttered in their wandering path over her torso was any indication.

“Hey,” _That_ was what she’d been going for. Breathy as all hell, but whatever. Not her fault; Adora was sucking on her neck and brushing the sides of her breasts with her thumbs like a _fucking tease_ -

“What do you want?” Of course Adora sounded sweet and excited and _earnest_. Always so earnest, even when she was teasing.

 _Revenge_ , a little part of her yelled. Later. This felt too good to pass up, and Adora’s enthusiasm was endearing.

“Your mouth,” Catra wound up saying, hoping Adora would just… run with it. Honestly, _whatever_ she wanted to do with her mouth would be good with her: kiss her, ravage her neck, be a dork and go freckle hunting, anything.

“You’re really worked up, huh?” Adora’s tone was one of wonder, lips brushing over her collarbone as she worked her way down. Catra really hoped Adora didn’t expect her to answer because all she was going to get was some embarrassingly high pitched moaning if she tried to speak. Actually, that was what she was going to get in any case because Adora’s lips had closed over one nipple and she-

Moved on the the other _way_ too quickly.

“Adora?” It took a moment to center herself because wow, yeah, Adora looking up at her like that was, again, intense. The sole target of her focus, the only important thing at the moment; a shiver ran down Catra’s spine, making her fur stand on end.

It took real concentration for Catra to form her next sentence, short as it was, “You okay?”

Adora’s eyebrows drew together, the absolute picture of confusion, “Yeah, why?”

“You’re just moving kinda fast. I _definitely_ was not done with you on boob one,” she laughed, more relaxed now that she knew Adora was okay. Still left the question of _why_ though, that was definitely not her normal way of doing things.

Adora’s eyes went wide, cheeks reddening, “I- sorry, I thought-” she swallowed, then tried again, “You sounded so… needy. I thought maybe you wanted me to go faster, get to, well, getting you off quicker.”

Catra pushed herself up on an elbow, cupping Adora’s cheek, both to comfort her wonderful, bizarre girlfriend, and to keep her from looking away.

“One, you didn’t do anything wrong, you don’t need to apologize. Two, pretty much regardless of how turned on I am, I really, _really_ love the way you touch me, even if I’m a brat sometimes and complain about it being slow,” briefly, Catra wondered if she’d regret telling her that, “And three, you know there’s not, like, an order of operations here, right? You don’t have to speedrun my tits to move forward?”

As she thought about it, Adora _did_ pretty much always follow a pattern. A relatively logical one, given the general downward trajectory, but even when they’d introduced some grinding, Adora always waited until she’d made sure every inch of Catra’s torso had been paid proper attention. She’d thought she was just being a tease but...

Adora was doing her _absolute_ best to look anywhere but at Catra.

“Adora?” Catra was doing _her_ absolute best to not laugh. She wouldn’t do it. Adora was too fucking sweet; she’d been _trying_ to do what she thought Catra had wanted. She was fucking precious and adorable and a gift and maybe someday she could tease her about this but that day was _not_ today.

“I thought it made sense…” her voice was _so_ soft, something between wonder and dawning horror. Nope, no, Catra was _not_ letting her spiral. Not right now. Not over something this ridiculous.

“Adora, I’ve said it before and I will say it again: the way you think is so _fucking_ weird sometimes, and I love it, and I will love spending the rest of my life trying to unravel the absolute mystery that is your brain,” Adora’s eyes snapped to her own, something finally pulling her from her thoughts, “You have _nothing_ to be sorry or guilty about, okay? It’s really sweet, honestly, and really cute and really _you_ that you were thinking about making sure I got what I wanted.”

The smile that spread over Adora’s features was a relief in and of itself. Catra probably wouldn’t have forgiven herself if she’d _actually_ hurt Adora’s feelings.

“‘The rest of your life’, huh?”

And _of course_ that was what her sap of a girlfriend latched onto. Still, Catra met her grin with one of her own.

“Already told you I’m not leaving you again. You’re stuck with me.”

“I think I can live with that.” Adora squirmed up a bit to kiss her again, and really, Catra felt like she couldn’t deny her anything right then. Murder, robbery, threesome, whatever. Adora deserved the whole fucking world.

“What do you want? You’ve been spoiling me,” Catra asked, lips still brushing Adora’s as she spoke.

“Um… could you take my bra off?”

Yeah, that was _definitely_ within the realm of the whole world. And again, pride swelled in her chest; Adora really was getting better at this shit. Catra slid her hands under the stretchy material, taking a moment to just enjoy the soft, giving flesh under her fingers—and the little gasp her touch drew out—before pulling it off.

“Anything else?”

Adora pursed her lips, sitting back to think, giving Catra a moment to just enjoy the view. And really, what a view. She ran her claws, lightly, leaving only the faintest of white lines on Adora’s skin, up her arms, then her palms back down, enjoying the feeling of her muscle under her fingers as much as the involuntary little shivers the actions produced.

“If you’re not ready, it’s totally okay,” Adora began, sending a bolt of anticipation through Catra. Oh. This would be interesting.

She took another breath, then dove in, “I really want to see you, if that’s okay. And you said earlier you wanted my mouth, and I know this wasn’t what you meant then, but I’d really like to… um. Taste you. Again, if that’s okay.”

Again, Adora’s soft, gentle fumbling had _no_ right to be this hot. Confident, teasing Adora was great, and Catra looked forward to a day when she’d make more of an appearance, but sweet, awkward, dorky Adora, every word and look and touch brimming with tenderness and love, soothed a deep, aching need somewhere in her soul in a way that both warmed her and set her ablaze.

“It’s very okay.” Catra was pretty sure she got all the words out before her lips connected with Adora’s again, pulling her back down with the lightest touch, thrilled with how little effort she needed to expend to have Adora follow her movements. Thrilled by the way the gentlest brush of her fingertips had her arching into her hand. Thrilled by the desperate sounds she made, even when Catra’s hands and lips stuttered or she felt like she was a bit lost. Even the little corrections, ‘ _softer_ ,’ ‘ _more_ ,’ ‘ _wait, back where you were, that was good_ ,’ were thrilling in their own way. Catra was learning how to make her fall apart—and how to tease more effectively—and Adora was learning to just _ask_ and trust her.

“ _Catra_.”

Even through the moan, Catra could hear Adora’s attempt to actually talk. Reluctantly, she released the delicate skin she’d been sucking a lovely mark into, just shy of the center of Adora’s left breast. ‘ _More_ ,’ was turning out to be _quite_ fun. But it could be fun later too, so Catra leaned back, settling against the pillows with a pleased grin.

Adora let out a shaky laugh, shifting her weight so she could run a hand through Catra’s hair, down her face to cup her cheek a for a moment.

“You are wonderful,” she murmured, trailing her hand down further, down to her shoulder, then up the arm to the hand she still had resting on Adora’s shoulder. Adora’s other hand had already clasped the one Catra had been using to trace words over Adora’s ribs, fingers threaded together.

“And I love you,” Adora continued, holding their hands between them, “And this is so, so good.”

Catra smiled up at her, basking in the praise and the warmth of her tone, in the kisses she’d leaned down to press to her forehead, cheek, the corner of her mouth.

“Do you still want me to, uh, touch you? Take these off?” Adora pulled back a little so Catra could see her better, shifted her hands into one of her own to slide a finger under the waistband of Catra’s shorts, dragging it along her stomach for a moment before releasing the fabric again. Even that made Catra squirm, her breath hitch. _Yes_ , she wanted this. So much.

“Yeah, if you still wanna.” No pressure. Catra was probably as turned on as she could ever remember being in her life, but that mattered less than Adora did. She said she wanted to stop, they’d stop.

“I do,” again, so soft, so awestruck, slowly rising into excitement as she continued, “I really do. I’ve wanted to for a while…”

Catra was surprised when she found her hands were pinned above her, not because of any sudden movement. No, she wasn’t ever sure when that happened. But her wrists were caught—gently, loose enough that she could escape, if she were of a mind to—in one of Adora’s hands, and her dork was beaming down at her.

“But you keep distracting me.”

Apparently having her own words thrown back at her could _also_ be hot. Who knew?

Giving her time to consider that revelation was apparently not one of Adora’s goals. Adora swept her into another searing kiss, quickly abandoning her hold on Catra’s wrists to stroke her hair, her face, down her chest and stomach. Catra found herself trying to press into every touch, unable to get enough. Her squirming must have alerted Adora, because those hands pressed against her a little more firmly, holding her hips, grounding her.

The absolutely delighted grin on Adora’s kiss-swollen lips helped as well. It was Adora, her sweet, thoughtful girlfriend, who was making her feel this out of control. Adora, whose eyes stayed locked on hers as she tucked a couple fingers under her waistband, beaming when she nodded. Adora, whose hands pressed gently, but firmly against her legs in a silent ‘ _I’m here, I’ve got you_ ,’ as she _finally_ took her underwear off, tossing it somewhere behind her quickly so she could have both hands on Catra again.

“I’m still good,” Catra murmured, shifting a little, getting more comfortable.

“Me too,” Adora had the dopey, lovestruck look on her face again, her eyes locked onto Catra’s.

“You can look, you dork,” Catra laughed, sitting up and reaching out to cradle Adora’s cheek, “You can even touch if you want.” A hint, a plea, whatever her voice had turned that into, it got the job done.

It was fun, watching Adora’s eyes travel down her body. Catra couldn’t feel embarrassed, not really, not with the way Adora looked at her, beaming with delight like _she_ was a gift.

“ _Beautiful_.” Something they’d said to each other a hundred times, at least, but the way Adora said it right then sounded like a hymn. Even as she shuffled, awkward and grinning, apologizing when she put too much of her weight on the hand on Catra’s thigh, down to lay between her legs, that word rang out in Catra’s mind. The noise that Adora made when she had settled, getting a good look at her finally. The soft expression on Adora’s face as she kissed the inside of her thigh, just below where her fur was messy and damp. Those eyes, that smile, shining up at her again, waiting for her cue. All fucking _beautiful_.

“Please.”

That first touch was everything Catra had dreamt about and been terrified to hope for. And the one after, and the one after that. Lips and tongue were eager and soft and clumsy, and Catra was beaming. They were exploratory, not spending nearly enough time doing any one thing to establish a rhythm, too busy learning her different initial reactions. They got distracted, moving to her thighs, her stomach, her knee at one point, making sure Catra knew every part of her was loved. They were gentle, far too gentle to be sending as much fire through her nerves as they did.

It was like every too hopeful dream, but so _so_ much better; Adora was _there_ , smiling back at her, checking in, drawing out a quiet litany of ‘ _yes_ ,’ and ‘ _fuck_ ,’ and ‘ _there_ ,’ and ‘ _Adora._ ’ But this time it was real and messy and every flaw was perfect because it drilled in, again and again, that this wouldn’t be ripped away and that her real, messy, flawed, perfect Adora was there with her. Catra’s claws dug into the bed, toes flexing to the point where her calves started burning, searching for _something_.

“I’ve got you.”

In that moment, Catra made a decision, and let go. Fuck her pride, her fear, all of it. She’d lose control and Adora would be there and catch her and hold her and make sure she loved every fucking minute of it.

And Adora did. Of course she did.

Catra came with a soft gasp, tense for a moment, then relaxing utterly aside from a few weak twitches. Everything was quiet for a moment, Adora shifting to press kisses to parts of her inner thighs she’d missed earlier, hands massaging her hips. If the world could have just paused right then, Catra would have happily lived in that moment for ages.

“Adora?” Catra was pleasantly surprised to find her voice was operable.

“Welcome back, you good?” Adora sounded proud of herself, and hell, she’d earned it.

“I will be when you kiss me.”

Apparently Adora was just as eager for the familiar connection, not even bothering to wipe her face before pushing herself up and practically melting against Catra’s lips. That wound up being… a lot hotter than she’d been prepared for. Catra moved to press closer, only to wince and remember the second thing she’d wanted to ask for.

“Hey, so, I absolutely want to continue if you’re good. But uh, could you rub my left leg? My calf cramped up.”

“Oh! Yeah, of course.” Adora kissed her cheek before she shuffled their legs around, placing Catra’s in her lap. For a while, they were quiet, Adora gently working the knot out of Catra’s calf, Catra mostly just basking in the afterglow. Aside from that one muscle, she felt loose and warm; a part of her was ready to just go to bed. A larger, much louder part of her was complaining that Adora _still_ had her shorts on.

As soon as she could flex her leg without pain, Catra pulled back, flipping onto all fours. It was precious really, how immediately Adora leaned back, a grin on her face, allowing Catra to straddle her lap.

“What’s this about?” Catra poked her cheek, earning a laugh she wished she could store somewhere for safekeeping.

“Can’t decide what my favorite view of you is,” Adora said, eyes trailing up her body, “This is definitely a contender though.”

“You’re a dork,” Catra said for what had to be the millionth time that evening, still full of the same fondness, “You’re also still kinda dressed, and I’d like to remedy that, if you want to.”

“Yes, please!” Adora’s voice caught a little, squeaking at the end in a way that turned Catra’s smile downright predatory.

Catra let her claws whisper over Adora’s skin as she backed up, hoping the sensation distracted from the awkward movement. She was torn really, between taking her time, making her squirm, mapping every inch of skin, and getting to finally just _have_ her. Both sounded _lovely_. Like she’d said before, she’d figure it out as she went.

Once she’d pulled off and discarded Adora’s shorts, Catra _did_ take her time traveling back up those long legs, enjoying the ticklish sensation of her hair against her lips, the way Adora whimpered while she kissed every little scar and blemish and mark on her skin. Maybe she was a bit distracted, but _all_ of Adora deserved this attention, and Catra was determined to give it to her.

“Catra, _please_.”

Catra was determined to give it to her _later_ , after more pressing things were taken care of.

“You know what you want?” Knowing Adora would likely need a moment to think, Catra took the chance to just _look_.

It took everything she had to keep her brain engaged and online.

Sure, she’d seen Adora naked before, albeit years ago, but that was from a distinctly different angle in a distinctly different setting in a _very_ distinctly different scenario. In the memories from the showers, ironically enough, Adora hadn’t been this wet, curls darkened and practically plastered against her skin. Or, so she assumed anyway, different angle and all. Her thighs definitely hadn’t been quivering like this. She hadn’t been looking at her with a shaky grin, caught somewhere between playful and shy.

“See something you like?” Adora asked, very much not answering her earlier question.

Not answering _her_ question, at least for a moment, Catra kissed the join of her hip and thigh, loving the gasp she received, and reeling herself back from the intense desire to see what other noises she could get from that spot.

“I see a ridiculously gorgeous woman who isn’t telling me what she wants.” Despite the temptation, Catra held still, pushing herself up on her elbows. She would wait. She could do it. Just needed to take a deep brea- Nope. Actually, that didn’t help at all.

Adora groaned, flopping back, “I want too many things. I can’t choose.”

Catra wasn’t totally sure the issue was actually ‘couldn’t choose’ and not ‘wouldn’t choose,’ but she nuzzled against her leg anyway, hoping to encourage her.

“Remember that whole ‘rest of my life’ thing? We’ve got years to try everything on your list,” pausing, Catra raked her gaze over Adora, who still hadn’t sat back up, was still avoiding eye contact. A sigh and a soft, fond smile on her lips, she continued, “And I’m not gonna be disappointed with what you pick. Like I said, years ahead of us.”

That seemed to do it. Adora shifted, slowly pushing herself back up onto her elbows, a little, soft smile starting, “Thanks… Um. Could you come up here? I want to be able to kiss you.”

Really, how the fuck was she this cute? Catra had no idea how she of all people managed to wind up with the sweetest little shit in Etheria. Probably the entire universe. Catching the delighted smile on Adora’s face as she settled above her again, Catra amended her thought. _Definitely_ and without a doubt the most adorable asshole in the universe and any other ones besides.

“Anything else?” Catra asked, hovering just a little out of reach.

“Uh… your fingers? Or your leg? Can you reach comfortably like this?” Adora tilted her head, glancing between them with a little frown, one Catra immediately leaned in to kiss away.

“I can reach, don’t worry. That’s what you want?” Sure, Adora had a few inches on her, but aside from the angle it couldn’t be _that_ different than masturbating, right?

There was a pause, then Adora grinned, looking a little more relaxed, “Yeah. I love you.”

Catra snorted, stroking her cheek before reaching down, hoping the way her fingers stuttered over Adora’s stomach felt like some sort of purposeful tease, “I love you too, you dork.”

As Adora surged back up to kiss her again, Catra made sure her claws were retracted, and slowly ran her fingers over her.

Once again, touching was even better than looking. She really was _soaked_. And soft. And pressing into her touch, wanting her. For a moment Catra just explored, marveling at the fact that she was actually, _finally_ touching Adora. That the pitiful whine smothered against her lips was her doing. She felt so full, of love, pride, desire, that all consuming warmth, but she didn’t feel paralyzed by it, just. Good.

“What do you like?” Catra asked, nipping at the shell of Adora’s ear. Predictably, she gasped, eyes closing as she searched for words again.

“Shit, Catra. I-” Adora interrupted herself with a startlingly loud moan as her whole body jolted at the lightest touch, “N-not that direct. Harder, just off-center.”

Catra adjusted accordingly, burying her quiet groan in a hum when Adora bucked into her hand. Given enough time, she was certain she could get off just listening to Adora’s reactions, but that was an experiment for another day. Adora didn’t look like she’d last long, and after what amounted to hours of safe-for-work foreplay and however long they’d been back in their room, Catra couldn’t blame her.

Even as her fingers pressed harder, rubbed a little faster, Catra kept kissing Adora’s face, lips, jaw. Soft, trying her best to remind her everything was good and she was good and she deserved her chance to have what she wanted. Maybe she got through, maybe Adora found that place on her own, but either way, some of the tension in her face and body seemed to fade, her movements felt a little less stiff, voice a little less strained like she’d been trying to control them before.

“That’s my girl, come on.” Catra sunk to her elbow so she could, somewhat awkwardly, cradle Adora’s cheek. It made the angle a bit more awkward, but it was definitely worth it for the smile against her lips.

They were both grinning like idiots when the rest of the tension in Adora’s body snapped, Catra’s name catching in her throat, coming out in a gasp. They were _still_ grinning like idiots when Catra flopped to the side, stretching her tired arms. Catra was still grinning when she brought her hand to her lips and licked off the remaining moisture; Adora had been reduced to a sort of stunned look of wonder.

“Wow.” As always, Adora was wonderfully eloquent.

“Yeah.” So was Catra.

She wasn’t about to complain about their less than award-winning pillow talk though, not when Adora had rolled onto her side and was pulling her close. Catra shifted as she was dragged, rolling onto her side so Adora could curl around her, hold her tight against her body. As Adora nuzzled her hair, Catra noticed she was purring, and spared a moment to wonder just how long that had been happening. Only a moment though. Adora’s quiet, tuneless humming, her fingers tracing strange, purposeful patterns in her fur, the feeling of just being held, nothing between them, those all felt much more important.

Neither of them could quite find the words, it seemed, to sum up that moment. It didn’t really matter though, they could say the important stuff without them. Adora’s arms, holding Catra tight against her body, Catra’s tail wrapped around Adora’s ankle, fingers twined with one of her hands, ‘ _I’m here. I’m staying. I love you.’_

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Take Me to Church" by Hozier
> 
> Adora's suit inspiration if you didn't read "Not Little, Not Black, and Not a Dress."  
> 
> 
> Catra's suit inspiration (the wrong colors but you get the idea)  
> 
> 
> Also psssst violets are for lesbians and honeysuckle is symbolic of the bonds of love because I am a SAP and needed to include some flower symbolism in my fic. 
> 
> I don’t know how quickly hair grows but Catra is a friggin cat so it can grow at whatever pace is convenient for my writing
> 
> I know zero things about clothes and how to pick things that look good on people so I DO NOT know why I keep writing clothes shopping scenes.  
> I also know zero things about dancing, so of course I included a dancing scene  
> Where did these assholes learn to dance anyway? Clearly they both know at least the one they do at Princess Prom, which looks like something normal people would learn during that weird section of 5th grade music class where you’re suddenly taught a bunch of line dances and square dancing and the waltz. Which I have no idea if its a universal experience but. Yeah. No idea why the Horde would have taught that. I mean Adora has an excuse having lived in Bright Moon for a while by then and given her preparation, she probably learned a bunch of dances, but where and why did Catra learn? Who taught her? Did she do that JUST to dance with Adora at the Princess Prom?? I have so many questions and no answers so for sake of simplicity, I am saying they just. Know a few basic dances and calling it a day. 
> 
> Didn’t know what I wanted the pin and necklace to be when I started this, just that I wanted them to have something matching. I toyed with the idea of something like Adora’s wing pin, but figured a) wouldn’t make sense to buy a second one and b) already established that Adora felt uncomfortable at this point being reminded of the future vision. Another idea was just a super simple heart, but that seemed like a weird pin. Then I came up with the sword thing and was like yes. These guys would be totally down for weaponry as fashion. 
> 
> I put on a Hozier playlist at one point while writing this, see if you can guess where!
> 
> Alt titles: Ahelpfulpeach Was An Incredibly Dumb Baby Gay And Will Inflict Their Mistakes On Unsuspecting Fictional Lesbians. Ahelpfulpeach Tricks The Public Once Again Because Neither of These Nerds Are Naked at 12000 Words (I am so sorry). Ahelpfulpeach Is A Slut For The Rule of Threes. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed! If you're on there, I'm also very active on Tumblr @ahelpfulpeach.


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